Like No Other
by The Magic Catgirl
Summary: "If that's the case, then I wish for a world like no other, where different kinds of magical girls will help us! I'm sure that if that happens, there won't be a single witch we can't defeat!" It had been such a hopeful wish. If only, Homura thought, Madoka had known the truth back then. Maybe these poor girls would have been spared our suffering.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue: Make A Wish**_

"Homura-chan! What on Earth is happening? What happened to you? Oh, you're hurt! Don't tell me you were fighting that witch all by yourself?" Homura Akemi stirred slightly, that faint flicker of hope in her heart relighting at the sound of her best friend's concerned voice. _No. Not in this timeline. Not since any timeline in a long while. _

Once again, Homura had watched Walpurgisnacht descend upon Mitakihara, this time feeling confident that her ability to stop time, combined with Kyoko Sakura's ferocious fighting skill, would be able to defeat the Dreadnaught Witch without the inevitable casualty of Madoka Kaname. However, the plan had gone entirely wrong. Upon the witch's arrival, Kyoko had decided to take matters into her own hands and begin the battle against Walpurgisnacht on her own. Homura hadn't been able to reach Kyoko until the scarlet magical girl had already been cornered by the Dreadnaught Witch's familiars. The witch had plucked up Homura before the raven-haired girl was able to activate her time powers, and hurled her into the river. Homura figured she must have washed up on its banks, and that Madoka had gone out looking for her. "Madoka! Please tell me...you came alone?" Her ribs were on fire, and she had gashed her shoulder in the initial fight while trying to reach Kyoko. But that wasn't important. Madoka hadn't learned the truth about magical girls in this universe. Homura couldn't afford to let Madoka make the contract blindly. Or, preferably, to make the contract at all.

"What do you mean?" Homura hated seeing the confusion and utter naivety in her friend's rose-colored eyes. Then again, it was better than the sorrow that always filled them every time Sayaka Miki became the very thing she had fought, or Mami Tomoe became careless fighting one witch and paid with her life.

"Madoka...don't become a magical girl just for my sake..." Her vision was darkening, and Madoka's face was beginning to blur. Her head was pounding. This was definitely the worst she had ever been hurt in one of her many battles against Walpurgisnacht. For the first time, the thought of what would happen if she died struck her. Would the hourglass on her shield activate on its own? Or would Homura finally lose the battle against her own wish? The panic that surged through her was enough to make her forget the pain momentarily.

"It's not just for your sake! I have to save Mitakihara now that Sayaka-chan and Mami-san have both been killed by witches! And you're in no condition to fight! I can't just stand by and watch you die!" Homura tried to sit up, and immediately regretted it. The simple action sent her into spasms, and she coughed up a startling amount of blood. If not for her Soul Gem's small amount of remaining magic, she would have certainly already died. She couldn't cry out as Kyubey appeared at Madoka's side.

_"Are you ready, Madoka Kaname?" _Madoka nodded. _No! _Homura wanted to scream. _Don't fall into his trap now!_

Turning to look at Homura, Madoka smiled and said, "I know about your real powers, Homura-chan. I figured them out the moment I saw you try to save Mami-san in that witch's labyrinth. You knew everything that would happen, like you'd lived it forever. I'm assuming you're going to rewind time again after this?" Homura forced herself to nod, tears threatening to spill over. She had come so close...

Madoka smiled that wonderful smile that had caused Homura to make her wish in the first place. "If that's the case, then I wish that when you rewind time next, the world you create will be like no other, and that more magical girls will help us fight! I'm sure that if we all come together, like Mami-san and Sayaka-chan wanted, there will be no witch we can't defeat!"

_"If that's what you wish, then your contract is complete!" _Kyubey blinked, and Madoka flinched as a brilliant pink Soul Gem erupted from her chest, where her heart beat. _"Congratulations, Madoka Kaname! You are now a fully fledged magical girl!"_

Homura could only watch, barely staying conscious, as Madoka summoned her golden bow, took aim, and shot a single pink arrow straight into the core of the Dreadnaught Witch. She didn't stay for the imminent explosion of energy that would result in her only friend's transformation into the most fearsome witch of all. But she did have to hear that horrible scream as Madoka realized her fate.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 1: Arrival**_

"Oh, Mamo-chan, it's just awful! I can't help but feel like whatever is causing all of these disappearances throughout Tokyo is something we should be fighting!"

Mamoru Chiba sighed, pulling his future wife into his arms. "Usa, not everything is an invader from some distant part of the galaxy who's trying to take the Legendary Silver Crystal for their own gain. This isn't any different from a normal kidnapping, the police will solve it soon enough. Besides, the girl was only just reported missing yesterday. Maybe..." He trailed off, groaning at the sound of the doubt in his voice. _Some comfort I am._

Besides, Usagi wasn't wrong to worry; there _had_ been an alarming number of teenage girls going missing throughout all of Tokyo's wards. Just the day before, the parents of a girl who attended Usagi's school had sent their daughter's picture to the paper after she hadn't come home from her friend's house. The sixth this month, the article had reported. "The police are totally baffled," Mamoru remembered hearing Usagi's father saying over dinner. "At first, they told us to report it as a kidnapping ring that was going after teenage girls. But then they found that one girl's body outside of the shopping mall the other day. Apparently, it didn't have a scratch on it, even though the girl had been missing for three days! If anything, it looked like she just simply laid down and died." Much as Mamoru didn't want to admit it, these did seem like the kind of incidents that usually occurred right before a new enemy surfaced.

Mamoru was brought back into the present by Usagi's ranting of, "Girls shouldn't have to spend their spring break worrying about things like this! Of course, if anyone tried to kidnap _me, _they would be in for a nice surprise, wouldn't they?" She imitated the pose she always struck when she was doing her speeches as Sailor Moon, giggling. "Which reminds me, Michiru-san is doing a special performance over the break in Mitakihara, as part of the opening weekend for their new concert dome. She managed to get all of us tickets, and everyone else already said they could go..." She widened her blue eyes as far as they could go, hands clasped in a pleading position.

Mamoru groaned; now he knew how Chibiusa had learned to beg so well. "Alright, I guess we can go."

Usagi let out a squeal of delight, heading for the door. "Oh, I knew you would say yes! I'm going over to Ami-chan's to tell everyone else we're coming!" Before he could stop her, she had already left the apartment. He sighed, giving a small laugh. That was his Usagi, she always knew how to get him to agree to anything. _It will be nice to get a change of atmosphere, _he thought, looking out the window. He could see the construction areas where Tokyo was recovering from the fight against Sailor Galaxia that had occurred a month ago. Mamoru was still waking up from nightmares where her voice commanded him to kill Sailor Moon, his Golden Crystal and Star Seed clenched in her hand. Going to his computer, he opened up his browser and searched for information on Mitakihara. _  
_

He knew it was a relatively new city; people had only started flocking to it within the past 25 years. It was being called a city from the future, with gorgeous architecture and state-of-the-art technology blending together like the world had never seen before. Construction on the concert hall Michiru would be performing at had only been completed three weeks prior. Thinking about the disappearances that had been occurring in Tokyo, he searched "missing teenage girls in Mitakihara area". An notice concerning a fifteen-year-old girl named Yuko Himura appeared. Mamoru clicked the link and found a newspaper article about two years old. The circumstances were so similar to the disappearances throughout Tokyo, it was scary. He tried to track the story, but the rest of the articles that week concerned a fatal car crash that had killed two government officials and orphaned their thirteen-year-old daughter.

Giving up, he closed his computer down. _Well, if the most similar case is from two years ago, it was probably just an unfortunate accident. _Returning to the window, he wondered, _So why do I feel as though we're heading straight into danger?_

* * *

The new universe began as they all did. Homura's eyes snapped open, and were promptly greeted by the harsh white lights of the hospital ceiling. Pushing aside the thin sheets, she walked across the carpeted floor to the small bathroom that was available in all long-term wards. After a quick shower, she was toweling off when she paused, catching her face in the mirror. She hadn't actually bothered to stop and look at her reflection in quite some time, and it _was _a bit of a shock to see how much she had changed. Her body was stronger, her eyes harder. Being a magical girl had definitely changed more than her attitude.

She pulled on her uniform, slung her bag over her shoulder, slipped the ring containing her Soul Gem onto her middle finger, and headed for the door. The long-term ward was largely unoccupied, which Homura preferred. She had found it was easier for Kyubey to detect her when people were making a large fuss over her.

The walk to Mitakihara Middle School was so familiar by now, Homura knew she could have done it in her sleep. Upon reaching the center of the city, however, an unfamiliar glimmer caught her eye. Turning around, she couldn't help but gasp at the sight of the brand-new Mitakihara Concert Dome, which had been under construction in every other universe. A work of modern art in itself, it was made almost entirely of various glass layers, with ribbons of steel that Homura could tell had been incorporated more for visual appeal than reinforcement. Although it looked transparent in the glow of the sun, Homura could detect a turquoise tint to the glass that would make it stand out even more at night. "Isn't it amazing?" she heard a schoolgirl saying to her friend as they passed by. "Rumor has it that the city received an enormous donation from some famous musician that let them complete construction months in advance! They're opening it this weekend!"

Remembering Madoka's wish, Homura couldn't help but wonder if this was a sign of things to come. _Could this universe be different?_

_Could this be the universe where I finally save Madoka Kaname?_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 2: First Meeting**_

_"This is it, Kyubey! It took us three days, but we've finally managed to track down this witch!" _Mami Tomoe's Soul Gem was glowing so brightly, it shocked her that the normal people around her were unable to see it. _"I'm surprised it's in such a public place," _she thought, looking at the street festival that surrounded her. All of Mitakihara was excited for the opening of the concert hall, and on a sunny Saturday afternoon like this one, the townspeople weren't above exploiting the tourists that had come from all over the world for the same event.

_"It's probably grown so desperate for human energy, it will risk anything. It's not unheard of," _Kyubey remarked. _"Or, more dangerously, it's grown so powerful it's become reckless." _Mami could see him perched on top of a booth selling flavored rice balls. _Maybe I'll get one once I wrap up this witch hunt. _As she approached a bicycle shop that neighbored one of the city's many alleyways, her Soul Gem began to vibrate. _It's definitely here.__  
_

Ducking behind the shop, she held out her Soul Gem and watched the entrance to the witch's labyrinth appear. The witch's symbol was a scarlet circle with rectangles on the top and bottom, and the entrance shone golden. Stepping through, she found herself inside a gruesome parody of the festival she had just left. Instead of laughter and the chatter of pedestrians, crying and screams of pain rang through the air. The dirt path she was standing on wove throughout the booths, which appeared to be manned by the tortured souls of people who had been absorbed into the labyrinth. Mami could just see the door that would take her to the witch at the end.

Transforming, she summoned a shield of rifles and began running down the path. Almost immediately, familiars who had taken the forms of grotesque festival-goers fell on her from all sides. She bound the smaller ones with her golden ribbons, while the larger ones were shot instantly. _This is definitely the second kind of witch Kyubey mentioned. _The path constantly swerved and twisted; all that was preventing her from becoming hopelessly lost was the light from her Soul Gem.

After about ten minutes of fighting off familiars, she reached the entrance to the witch's chamber. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door, steeling herself for what she could tell would be one of the most hostile witches she had ever faced. Summoning up a new round of rifles in a golden blast, she was pulled into the central part of the labyrinth, which seemed to be a parody of a traditional Shinto shrine. The witch was startlingly humanoid, although its appearance wouldn't have deceived any magical girl who knew what they were doing. Its garb resembled that of a miko's, although instead of arms, the witch had what appeared to be tree branches. Her head was that of a straw doll's. A harsh rattling sound filled the air, and Mami could smell something burning.

Aiming her first rifle, she muttered, "Okay, let's wrap this up quickly!"

* * *

"Alright everyone, great job! Go get a few hours of rest before the opening tonight!" Michiru Kaioh put her violin in its case, sat up, and stretched. It had been a long, grueling dress rehearsal, even without the lead pianist constantly attempting to hit on her. _Thank goodness Haruka wasn't here to see that. _She laughed, heading off to her dressing room.

As she was brushing her hair, she noticed a faint glow coming from her bag, which was sitting in the corner. _If that's Haruka calling, she got here awfully early. It's almost a three-hour drive from Tokyo! _But no, it wasn't her phone. Her mirror hadn't shone like this since the battle against Mistress Nine. _What could be so powerful as to set it off like this?_

Waving her hand over the surface, she saw a girl who appeared to be Usagi's age, only instead of odango buns, her hair was in tight curls. In a flash of golden light, five rifles appeared around her, and she pointed her finger towards...what was that? It looked like a youma, but it had an unearthly quality to it, something that screamed _wrong. _Michiru stared, frozen in horror. Since the picture was so clear, this was obviously happening nearby, maybe even right outside the concert hall. She found herself unconsciously reaching for the henshin stick she always kept in her bag.

Bolting out of the building, she held the mirror close to her heart, feeling it resonate with the magic patterns as she raced down the street. As she neared a shop selling bicycles, the atmosphere grew charged with that imminent sense of danger she knew too well. Ducking behind the building, she saw what looked to be a golden portal with a scarlet seal in the middle. She sighed, knowing what she had to do.

"Neptune Crystal Power, Make Up!"

* * *

Mami had known the battle would be difficult, but she seemed to have made absolutely no progress since she had fired the first shot. The witch was flailing her arms in a side-to-side pattern, knocking any attacks Mami attempted to the side. The only reason Mami hadn't been killed long ago was because she had weaved a shield out of her ribbons, which was currently suspended in front of her. She had circled the witch three times in an attempt to find a weak spot. She didn't want to risk using Tiro Finale just yet. If it missed, she would certainly be done for.

Mami had considered the attack she liked to call Rifle Storm, but it always exhausted her magic, and if she was forced to retreat, she didn't have any Grief Seeds left to purify her Soul Gem. Summoning up another quintet of rifles, she pointed at the witch and shouted, "Fire!" A hailstorm of golden magic streaked towards the witch, who held up her arms to deflect the bullets. _Wait, _Mami realized. _She's guarding her face! That must be her weak spot!_

She ducked behind one of the trees in the clearing, reorganizing her ribbon shield into an incredibly flimsy-looking staircase. _It's better than nothing, _she grimaced. She jumped onto the makeshift platform, behind what she hoped was the witch's blind spot. _Now or never. _Pulling her necktie from her collar, she transformed it into the massive gun with a golden flash. "Tiro-"

Out of nowhere, a rope of prayer beads shot out from the witch's robes and bound themselves around Mami. She plummeted to the ground, her necktie landing too far away to retrieve. The witch's arm was sweeping towards her now, jagged branches ready to impale the yellow magical girl where she lay. Mami braced herself for the end, hoping it would be quick...

"Submarine Violin Tide!" A globe of water rushed past Mami, and beautiful music filled the air, drowning out the screams of the witch as she was engulfed. The witch exploded into thousands of water droplets, and the golden-haired girl felt the beads that had pinned her to the ground vanish. Jumping up, she summoned more rifles, just in case this new magical girl was trying to extend her territory. The newcomer appeared to be a year or two older than Mami, and she carried herself with the confidence of a fellow senior magical girl. She wore what seemed to be a white leotard that was adorned with dark blue bows on the chest and waist, and a two-layered sea green miniskirt . The leotard had a sailor collar the same color as the girl's skirt, and pale green globes acting as shoulder pads. A golden tiara glittered on her forehead, while a dark green choker encircled her neck. Rounding out the ensemble were white, elbow-length gloves with sea green trim and matching knee-high boots. In her right hand was a small mirror. Mami felt as though she had recently seen the girl's face, but she couldn't quite place a name to it.

The labyrinth faded, and the girl looked around, seemingly startled. "Is that it, then?" she said.

_Ah, _Mami thought. _"Kyubey! I think your new girl found her way into Mitakihara!"  
_

The girl looked towards Mami, clearly startled. "Was that you inside my head just now?" Had Kyubey taught this girl absolutely nothing? Even potentials that hadn't made contracts yet used telepathy! _Maybe she made the contract in a hurry, like I did. Still, Kyubey was quick to fill me in when I woke up..._

Brushing herself off, Mami decided to buy some time until Kyubey could come and sort this mess out. Holding out her hand, she called, "Hello there! My name is Mami Tomoe. You must be newly contracted, but I'm like you. Thanks for helping out with that witch, I thought I was done for!"

The other girl didn't copy the gesture, suspicion now registering in her eyes. "Like me? You must be mistaken. You aren't wearing a sailor fuku, you gave away your civilian identity, I have no clue what you mean by 'contracted', I don't know why you would think that thing was a witch, seeing as it was clearly a new kind of youma, and what on Earth is a Kyubey?"

Now it was Mami's turn to be confused. _Is this some insane cosplayer who's trying to take staying in-character to an entirely new level? _Remembering how the girl had blasted aside the witch with a single attack, she decided, _No,_ _definitely magical girl. So why doesn't she know any of the basic facts?"_

_"I'm afraid I'm completely blindsided by this as well," _Kyubey chimed in, jumping down from a rooftop. The girl jumped back, looking unnerved by the white creature's sudden appearance. _"I remember every girl I've ever contracted, and I've never met her in my life."_ Turning towards the strange magical girl, he added,_ "Although I'm intrigued by the amount of power within you. I've only met a handful of girls with the sheer amount of magic at their fingertips that you have. You must have made quite the wish."_

The girl took a step back, eyeing Kyubey and Mami like they were infected with the plague. "I'm sorry, I think you're mistaken. I've never seen either of you in my entire life." Mami noticed that as the girl said this, her grip on the mirror tightened, and her eyes seemed to be examining Mami from head to toe. _She's lying. Or, at least, she isn't telling the whole truth. Alright, I'll play along._

"Well, I'm sorry about this little incident. Again, thank you for helping me. If you hadn't shown up when you did, well, I'd rather not think about what could have happened. Why don't we just part ways and forget that this ever happened?" The girl looked down, then slowly nodded. Mami smiled. "Come on, Kyubey." Detransforming, she walked back out onto the crowded street. As she did so, one of the posters advertising the performer lineup for the opening concert caught her eye. Her eyes found their way to a young woman with sea green hair, clutching a violin. The same woman who had just saved her back in that labyrinth.

_Looks like I'll have to cancel tonight's witch hunt._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Three: Together Again **_

"Michiru-san, I would like to believe you, but I just don't think there's any way!" Ami insisted. Massaging her temples, the blue-haired girl groaned. "Sorry for sounding so on edge, but...what you saw just doesn't seem logical. If other girls like us were out there, it wouldn't make any sense for them to have not reached out to us. For example, you and Haruka-san had never met any of us before when you experienced your awakenings as Uranus and Neptune. Yet you still knew that your mission was to protect Princess Serenity." "

Don't misunderstand, I'm concerned as well," Michiru replied. "Actually, an idea occurred to me shortly after I contacted the rest of you. What if this girl is in the same situation that Vesta, Ceres, Juno, and Pallas were in? If that's the case, then that strange white cat I saw could have been controlling her in the same way Nehellenia was controlling them."

Ami nodded. "I suppose that's a possibility. Could you describe the cat again? Maybe draw a picture?" Michiru nodded, reached into her bag for a pen, and began drawing on the complementary notepad that had come with her hotel suite. After a minute, she pushed the paper across to Ami.

"It isn't beautiful, but it's accurate enough." Ami was completely baffled by the creature Michiru had supposedly seen. It _did_ have a rather catlike build, although Ami had never heard of a cat with four ears.

"Were the rings around the ears attached to anything?"

Michiru shook her head. "No. They just floated there." Shivering, she continued. "The worst thing about it was its face. I don't think the greatest artist in the world would be able to portray it correctly. It had a smile that looked painted on and fake, and beady pink eyes that seemed to be staring right through me, analyzing me. Like they could see into my soul."

"And it spoke using telepathy? It didn't physically move its mouth like Luna and Artemis?"

"That's right. Actually, the other girl contacted it first. I think it was serving as more of a medium between our thoughts, although it did directly address me at one point. Not that I understood what it was talking about."

Ami was taken aback by that. "You mean the other girl was able to use telepathy as well? You didn't mention that before."

Michiru shrugged. "I was still rather shocked by what had all happened, it must have just slipped my mind." She paused, sighing. "If only we still had Luna and Artemis. They might have known something."

Ami lowered her eyes, clenching her fists in frustration. The two cats had mostly recovered from the injuries Sailor Galaxia had given them, but at the cost of their speech capabilities and memories of the Silver Millenium. Upon examining them, Setsuna had concluded that both cats would probably be stuck with the intelligence of average felines unless they joined Diana and Chibiusa in Crystal Tokyo. "There, Neo-Queen Serenity would probably be able to heal them," the green-haired woman had conveyed. "But although it's the more practical choice, there's no guarantee that they would be able to come back to our time. The Time-Space Doors were so damaged by Sailor Galaxia's onslaught, I'm not sure they'll ever function properly again. If we send Luna and Artemis into the future, it might be forever."

The news had been a damaging blow to everyone, but Usagi and Minako had definitely taken it the hardest. Minako had been so devastated, she hadn't spoken for three days. "You can't really blame her," Rei had remarked. "After all, she and Artemis worked together for an entire year before Usagi even met Luna."

Ami looked up, an idea coming to mind. "Do you think you could find this mystery girl again with your mirror? After all, that was how you first saw her, wasn't it?"

Michiru looked uncertain. "My mirror only acts like that when it's in the presence of something with strong magical powers. Remember its original activation, during Usagi's first transformation into Super Sailor Moon? It takes something like that happening in a close proximity to where I am. For example, it wouldn't be able to detect you right now, since you're in your civilian form. If you were transformed, that would be one thing. But as Ami Mizuno, you're invisible to its magical radar. I can't simply make it hone in on a random civilian like what you're suggesting."

Ami mulled over this information for a moment, making a slight change to her plan. "Why not use it to find this strange white cat, then? If we can find it, I have a feeling this Mami Tomoe will be close by."

"We may as well try," Michiru said, reaching across the table for her mirror. She closed her eyes, and the look on her face showed she was in deep concentration. After a few moments, she swiped her hand over the mirror, and the trident etched on the back began to glow. Several tense seconds passed. Nothing. Michiru's face fell.

"It was worth a go-" Ami was cut off by the sudden appearance on the glass surface of a strange creature that matched Michiru's drawing. _Unbelievable! She actually found it!_ The catlike animal was perched on the shoulders of a teenage girl with curly blonde hair, just like Michiru had described. The girl seemed to be talking to the creature, although the mirror couldn't convey sound. Ami's eyes strayed to a small piece of paper next to the girl. "Michiru-san...isn't that a ticket for the concert tonight?"

Michiru nodded. "Let everyone know what we've found. And tell them to come prepared tonight. I don't want anyone to be caught off guard if there's a fight."

* * *

Sayaka Miki hadn't even wanted to _come_ to the performance. The only reason she had agreed to three months prior was because the _plan_ had been for Kyosuke to play a rendition of one of her favorite pieces. She certainly didn't want to watch whoever had been called in at the last minute to replace him, no matter how much her parents had sung the woman's praises for the entire fifteen-minute car ride.

Yet there she was, standing in the metal and glass lobby of the Mitakihara Concert Hall, wanting to hate it. So far, she was succeeding. The polished wood balconies with their metal railings that made up the second, third, and fourth floors hung over her head. They weren't pretty; Sayaka thought they were rather tacky and out-of-place. Hundreds of people moved around her, admiring that aspect of the architecture or expressing their excitement at getting to see this performer. Tired of hearing their obnoxiously loud voices, she turned to her mother. "Mom, I'm going to go look for Madoka. She said her family was coming, too."

Without waiting for a response, she turned around and began pushing her way through the crowd. After being momentarily blinded by a camera flash, a glimpse of pink hair caught her eye. She gave a sigh of relief as she heard her best friend calling out, "Sayaka-chan! Over here!"

Sayaka raced over as fast as her shoes would allow her. "Glad I found you! You have no idea what I had to go through on the way here!" she moaned.

Madoka's mother turned to her with a smile. "Sayaka-chan, how nice to see you! Oh my, you and Madoka look so beautiful together in your dresses!" Sayaka blushed. Her dress was a pretty shade of azure, floor-length, and sleeveless, with an ocean blue sash around her waist. Madoka's was the same length, and appeared to have been chosen by her mother, as Sayaka knew her best friend would never have gone with something strapless if she'd gotten a say.

Madoka looked flustered. "Mom, why couldn't I have worn something a little less noticeable? And the same with the hair ribbons!" Sayaka and Madoka's mother both burst out laughing. In truth, Madoka actually looked rather pretty. The dress was a pink shade of blush that matched her hair (which was done up in two cute scarlet ribbons) almost perfectly, and the fabric looked light and soft. Not like Sayaka's, with its itchy lace collar that would probably be ripped to shreds the second her fingernails touched it.

Her night would only be getting worse from there.

* * *

During all of this, Homura was creeping throughout the upper floors of the building. She had swapped out her sleeveless black dress for her standard magical girl outfit. The violet glow of her Soul Gem was the only light on the otherwise abandoned fifth floor, casting an eerie glow about the hallway. Homura supposed this floor was for storage, only accessed by crew members. With the performance starting in three minutes, it was likely they had all already taken their positions in the rafters.

Homura did have a reason to be in a dark, abandoned hallway above a crowded concert hall just minutes before showtime. Her primary goal, Madoka Kaname's safety. A hallway like this was the perfect place for a witch to lurk, and in the dark, crowded auditorium, it would be easy for Kyubey to lure Madoka into a labyrinth and convince her to make a contract. Homura was certain the white cat would be somewhere in the vicinity tonight.

There was one downside: Kyubey had finally taken note of her presence on the fourth night, when she had been forced to either transform or let a witch absorb a man walking home from his job into its barrier. Homura had emptied a round of bullets into the creature and fled before it could respawn, but the damage had been done. It knew her face now, and it was only a matter of time before it was able to track her down.

Her Soul Gem flickered brighter, but not the way it did when it detected a witch. It was reacting to a magical girl, and by the look of it, she was extremely close by. Taking a tentative step towards a door leading off to the rafters, Homura heard the distinct sound of a soda can being opened. Homura needed no more clues to discern who it was.

Reaching into her shield, she retrieved a small handgun. Opening the door, she pointed it at the girl. "I see you're prepared for a long night," she remarked.

Kyoko Sakura was not dressed for the occasion. Clad in a worn-out green hoodie and denim shorts, with a tangled mane of red hair held back by a single ribbon, her appearance would have probably given some of the more proper women heart attacks. Homura figured that was why she was perched in the rafters, almost directly above the stage, with a can of soda clutched in one hand and her Soul Gem in the other. The redhead narrowed her eyes. "And just who are you, huh?"

"That isn't important." Homura kept a firm grip on the gun, flipping some of her hair over her shoulder with her free hand. She was impressed by Kyoko's nonchalance, most magical girls would have quailed in terror the second they realized they were being held at gunpoint by an obvious veteran. "What interests me is why you're in Mitakihara when it's been the undisputed territory of Mami Tomoe for two years."

Kyoko smirked. "Could ask the same of you." Taking a slow sip of her soda, she let out a sigh. "It's gonna be a long night. Guess I've got nothing better to do. Though I'd be a little more conversational if you'd get that gun outta my face." Homura thought it over, then complied. She didn't take her eyes off the other girl, though.

Kyoko eyed Homura's shield with interest. "Should have asked Kyubey for one of those. Woulda made my life a lot easier, that's for sure." She let out a quick laugh, reaching for a brown paper bag next to where she was sitting. "Want a taiyaki? I probably took a few more than I needed from that vendor, but hey, you never know. One minute you're sitting and minding your own business, next thing you know, you got a magical girl pointing a gun in your face. Nice to have some basic comforts before you go out, y'know?"

Homura didn't accept the offer. "Are you looking Mami Tomoe or not?"

Kyoko nodded, biting into the fish-shaped cake. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I think she's really self-righteous, acting like she's gonna change the world or something. But everyone makes the contract thinking that kind of crap. You did, I did. But then reality hits you." Kyoko made a sweeping gesture with her hand to emphasize her point. "Nothing good ever comes from asking for the impossible."

Homura nodded. At least this was going better than her last meeting with Kyoko, during which she had been caught off guard while witch-hunting, pinned to the ground, and wound up nearly losing one of her eyes. Yes, she figured she should probably avoid that kind of confrontation if she could help it. "There she is." Homura pointed to the fourth row, where Mami sat in a low-cut, lemon yellow dress.

"Yeah, I spotted her ages ago. How could I not? Only one more obvious than her is bunhead up in the front. She wouldn't shut up until the girl next to her looked ready to knock her lights out. Looked like she told her something to that effect, too."

Homura followed where Kyoko was looking to a girl who looked to be about sixteen. Her blonde hair was done up in odango buns that had long ponytails trailing out behind them, and she wore a strapless white dress with gold trim on the bodice. Next to her was an elegant-looking girl with long black hair, indeed looking very frustrated. Now that Homura was paying attention, they seemed to be part of a group consisting of nine or ten people. "I think they're guests of one of the performers," Kyoko said in between bites. "Weird thing about them is that they've been setting off my Soul Gem all night. See, yours is doing it too!"

Homura's eyes briefly glanced back towards her Soul Gem, which was now glowing a bright shade of amethyst. Uneasiness stirred within her. It usually only glowed like that whenever Madoka used her ultimate attack. The one that only had one end. "Are you suggesting that they're magical girls as well?"

"Well, that's the thing, isn't it? Look closer. No sight of any Soul Gems, and when was the last time you saw nine magical girls in the same place without them all trying to kill each other over a Grief Seed? Nah, something more's up. That's why I came out. Figured ol' Mami would have some idea of why my Soul Gem's going crazy. She was always the best at picking up strange magic."

Homura mulled over this turn of events for a minute. _It _would_ be best to nip this in the bud if they're enemy magical girls. What good has ever come of more contractees than Madoka, Sayaka, Mami, and Kyoko in the same universe? _

"What do you suggest?" she said, turning to Kyoko.

"Hang on now, I never said anything about working together," Kyoko objected. "You haven't even told me your name!"

"Akemi. Homura Akemi."

"Kyoko Sakura. Nice to meet you. Well, now that formalities are out of the way, shall we get started?" She held out the taiyaki once more. Homura thought for a moment. This could be dangerous, and she would be losing a great advantage of Kyoko was killed so early in. But nine other potential magical girls? It was simply too much of a wild card.

She took the taiyaki.


End file.
